Field of Invention
The present invention relates to food products and to methods of forming food products, and particularly to method of making food products from the drumstick of a bird, such as a chicken or other poultry or fowl, as well as to the resulting form of the food product.
Description of Related Art
Birds, such as poultry and fowl, are conventionally eviscerated, dressed, and sold either as a whole bird or as severed parts, i.e., breast, thighs, wings, etc. One of the parts which is often separated and sold is the lower portion of the leg, commonly called the drumstick, which comprises the part between the thigh and the foot of the bird. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a typical chicken drumstick 10 having a foot end 12 which includes at least a portion of the knuckle joint 14 where the drumstick 10 is attached to a foot (not shown) and a thigh end 16 which includes at least a portion of the knuckle joint 18 where the drumstick 10 is attached to a thigh (not shown). As is well known, drumsticks are generally not as commercially valuable as other parts of birds, such as breasts, thighs, and wings, due various reasons.
A method having the aim of improving the desirability of drumsticks for food consumption is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,984. This method involves severing at least a portion of the meat from the bone proximate the thigh end while leaving that portion of the drumstick near the foot-end attached to the bone near the foot of the bone. Although this method attempts to improve the desirability of drumsticks for human consumption, it has not been entirely successful for several reasons. Among those reasons include the recognition by applicants that drumsticks which retain the entirety of the foot knuckle, as is the case in the methods described in the '984 patent, are not entirely desirable from an aesthetic standpoint. Moreover, the display and handling of a drumstick configured in this manner is less than completely satisfactory due to the foot knuckle remaining on the drumstick. Another disadvantage of this method is that since the larger mass and better attachment of the meat to the bone is typically located surrounding the thigh end of the bone. In contrast, applicants have come to recognize that the remaining material which is attached near the foot-end is mostly skin and sinew, with relatively little meat attached to the bone in this area. As a result, applicants have come to appreciate that food products according to the '984 patent has the meat attached insufficiently strongly to the bone to create a stable and robust platform for forming improved food products. Moreover, the '984 patent neither discloses or suggests a means or mechanism for modifying the food product so as to decrease the cooking time and/or enhance the visual interest and eating experience of the food product.